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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26466892">When One Hand Reaches For Another</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWaterRogue/pseuds/TheWaterRogue'>TheWaterRogue</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It, Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, not a romantic relationship, this is a friend fic between taka and hina</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:34:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,523</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26466892</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWaterRogue/pseuds/TheWaterRogue</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Taka is devastated after his best friend's execution, and hasn't left his room for two days when a certain swimmer tries to get him up and at 'em once again. Hina hopes to try and help the hall monitor cope with his loss, and steps in.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Asahina Aoi &amp; Ishimaru Kiyotaka, Asahina Aoi/Ogami Sakura, Ishimaru Kiyotaka &amp; Ogami Sakura, Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>When One Hand Reaches For Another</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Two days. 48 hours. Time would usually pass quickly for the hall monitor as his mind became preoccupied with studying a topic no one else would bother to, but these past two days had been different. Two days ago, Kiyotaka Ishimaru had witnessed the brutal execution of his first friend – his best friend – Mondo Owada (or “Butter Boy” as Monokuma liked to call him, but we won’t get into that right now), and he couldn’t think of anything else. How could he? His best friend was dead, and there was no getting past that. It had also been around two days since speaking properly to any of his classmates. A twinge of guilt settled in his stomach at that thought. He was supposed to be helping them... keeping things in check! Why was he allowing himself to wallow in self-pity and misery rather than doing something productive? He kept asking himself this, over and over again, but still, he could not find the motivation to get up from his spot on his bed. What point was there in continuing? His best friend was dead, plain and simple. The dead don’t come back. And if one of the strongest men he knew couldn’t survive in a place like this, what chance of escape did he (or anyone else for that matter) have? A pathetic thought, he knew that much, but it gave him a reason to continue to not take care of himself. A growl echoed through his ears, which made him curl up tighter than he already was, but yet again, he could not find the motivation needed to get up and get something to eat. His best friend was still dead, no matter how much he tried to wake up from this nightmare. What was the point in doing anything? What was the point of- </p><p>Knock knock!</p><p>“Hmm?” </p><p>Knock knock knock! </p><p>Whoever was at the door sure was persistent; they hardly left a moment between knocks. </p><p>Knock knock knock knock! </p><p>“Ah- o-one moment, please...” Taka mumbled out, hauling himself out of the position he’d ended up in, before stumbling to his door. Slowly he opened it, slightly surprised to see a girl in shorts, tank-top, and red sports jacket. “Asahina?”<br/>
“Taka, good to see you’re up- oh my gosh, you look terrible.”<br/>
She wasn’t wrong. Hours upon hours of grief doesn’t do wonders for the complexion, and Taka was no exception. Tired eyes told stories of being unable to sleep, while oily hair and skin told tales of being unable to bring himself to take a shower.<br/>
“Ah, my a-apologies, Asahina. I haven’t... been myself, recently.”<br/>
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.” Asahina crossed her arms and looked Taka in the eyes. “I’m concerned. I spend a hell of a lot of time in or near the kitchen when I’m not training or with Sakura, and I haven’t seen you there at all! What have you been eating? Have you been eating at all!?”<br/>
“Th-that isn’t very import-” Taka was cut off by an almost deafening and definitely excruciatingly painful groan emanating from his stomach. He looked up to see the now very concerned swimmer looking back at him.<br/>
“...Taka, wait there, and do not go back to sleep.”<br/>
“But-”<br/>
“DO. NOT.” </p><p>Any objections would have to be saved for later, because before Taka could say anything else, Asahina was bounding towards her room, and not a minute later, she was back with an armful of toiletries, shoving them into Taka. </p><p>“Asahina, why are you-”<br/>
“Shower. Now.”<br/>
“But-”<br/>
“This is getting stupid-crazy! I will not have you throw away your life like this! Not when there are things to live for.”<br/>
“Things to live for...?” Taka asks in mild confusion. </p><p>Asahina stops for a moment, and begins to understand what’s going on, and why he hasn’t been attending the morning meetings like usual, or coming over to everyone to see if they needed any help, or... just being Taka in general. While she couldn’t yet completely comprehend what exactly was going through his head, she at least knew she needed to be careful. She looks at him, trying to decide what to say next, before opening her mouth. </p><p>“...Yes.” </p><p>Once again, before Taka can get a word in edgeways, she runs off again, proclaiming she’ll be back in about an hour or so, and that she wants to see him properly washed and dressed lest she do it herself. Taka, as stubborn as he is, would still prefer to wash himself, thank you very much. With a sigh, he closes the door behind him as he re-enters his room. Begrudgingly, he enters his bathroom, turns on the water, and waits for it to warm up. As he waits, he turns his head to the side and looks in the mirror. A stranger looks back at him. Taka blinks and leans in closer. Then he realises. That stranger was him. Two days was all it took to transform him into something that he couldn’t even recognise. He should be able to recognise his own reflection, shouldn’t he? He should, but he couldn’t. He knew it was him but he couldn’t see it as him. In Taka’s mind, he knew he wasn’t fine but he had never considered that it had gotten this bad! Stepping away from the mirror once it had steamed up, he stepped into the shower, the warm water now a foreign feeling on his skin. Normally. He'd be out of the shower and dry within about fifteen minutes, twenty tops, but not today. Thoughts swam in his head on any normal day, but for the past few days, the water had been muddied; he couldn’t tell what was what. He was in the shower for about thirty minutes before he’d realised the soap suds has long been washed off. Turning off the water, he grabbed a towel and dried himself off. While he was forced into a shower, he couldn’t help but admit that he felt the slightest bit better – a lot more comfortable in his own skin. </p><p>True to her word, around an hour after she had left, Asahina had returned. Only this time, she had two boxes. </p><p>“Asahina, why do you have-”<br/>
“It’s lunch! Sakura helped me make it!”<br/>
Taka looks slightly surprised and gazes at his wristwatch. Twelve forty-seven. Yep. Lunchtime.<br/>
“I suppose I lost track of time a bit...”<br/>
“I guess you did, but no worries! Because I’ve decided something!”<br/>
“Decided... something?”<br/>
“Yeah! As me and Sakura were making lunch for us three, she brought up worried she was herself about you!”<br/>
“Worried... about me?”<br/>
“Uh-huh! So Sakura and I made a plan! We’re gonna get you back on a schedule!”<br/>
“...What?”<br/>
“Sakura mentioned that you haven’t been getting a whole lotta exercise either, so me and her are gonna have sessions with you! And then we’re gonna eat lunch together! And then we’ll study! I think you mentioned you like studying at some point, right?”<br/>
A pain rises in his chest and throat. “Asahina-”<br/>
“Home economics was probably one of my favourites before this whole mess. I mean, a whole class basically dedicated to food! What’s not to like about the food class! And-”<br/>
“Why?”<br/>
Asahina stops rambling for a second. “Huh? What do you mean, ‘why’?” </p><p>Looking at the girl in front of him, he can’t help but begin to break. “Why do... this? I don’t... I don’t understand, I...” he tries to continue but it’s quite obvious he’s beginning to completely snap. Water hits the ground in front of him, and he soon becomes unable to utter a word, sobs shaking his entire body. That is, until he feels two arms wrap around him. He flinched. Then he realised that this wasn’t an attack. One hand rested on his back, the other gently laid on the back of his head. </p><p>“I don’t understand how you feel, Taka. Not even close. But that isn’t gonna stop me from trying to help you.” </p><p>Taka could only stand there, stunned. This shouldn’t be happening, should it? This was a killing game... Why isn’t she killing him? He’s weak. He couldn’t protect his best friend from a stuffed animal, so that meant he was weak; an easy target. So why was she being so... nice? He knew that she wanted to escape just as much as anyone, so why wasn’t she killing him? It was so confusing. Before he could properly register what just happened, she lets go and steps back. </p><p>“We gotta go for a bit. Sakura will be wondering why we’re taking so long,” she explains, “and I’ll be back later when we’re done to make sure you’re still eating and taking care of yourself, and I’m gonna come back and get you in the morning.”<br/>
“The morning?”<br/>
“From now on, I’m gonna come and make sure you’re not just lying in your bed all day. That means I’m gonna make sure you eat breakfast, leave your room, and actually take damn care of yourself!” Taka can only stare. What is he supposed to say? Asahina takes this as hesitance. “I know this probably isn’t what you want, but you’re only gonna get worse if you don’t! And I think that might be difficult for you to do by yourself, so I’m gonna help you. I don’t want you to die here, and I don’t think Mondo would want you to die either!” </p><p>Mondo. The one person who had actually cared about Taka up until this point. Other than a couple of instances with Naegi, he was the only one who ever spent time with him. Would he want Taka to live? As much as he wanted to believe Asahina’s words, there was still that doubt in the back of his mind. </p><p>“Do you truly think he’d want me to live...?”<br/>
“Don’t be stupid, Taka! It was pretty damn clear he thought the world of you! Of course he’d want you to live, damn it!” starts, but softens, “Look, under literally ANY other circumstance, I’d let you grieve, but people... people are killing each other in here, Taka. There have been two murders already, and I don’t know who’s gonna become desperate next. I don’t want you to become the next victim!”<br/>
Taka didn’t know what to say. What could you say to that? The something she said before came back to him. “Wait, we’re both going to see Sakura?”<br/>
“Yup. She said she wants to see you out of your room and wouldn’t take no for answer. And you know she could just break down your door if you refuse, so I don’t think giving her ‘no’ as an answer is a good choice.”<br/>
“Ah, I see. Well then... I suppose we shouldn’t keep her wait- ah!” Asahina had grabbed his hand and was practically dragging him down the hallway towards the cafeteria. He stumbled, but Taka was eventually able to regain use of his feet to walk into the cafeteria without looking like a total clown.</p><p>As he walked in, he tried not to meet the gazes of his mildly surprised classmates who had also come here for lunch. While he was trying to avoid eye contact, he missed Naegi getting up to go and speak to him before Kirigiri puts her arm out, blocking his path. </p><p>“Let him go at his own pace, Naegi.”<br/>
“But, Kirigiri-”<br/>
“He’s not ready yet. Hopefully with her help, he will be, but not now.” </p><p>Naegi, accepting defeat, sat back down and watched the scene unfold; Taka not talking but listening to Asahina and Sakura, slowly eating, still unsure as to whether he should be here or in his room again. However, while it was brief, Naegi could have sworn he saw Taka smile faintly as Asahina joked and Sakura chuckled at her antics. </p><p>About thirty minutes later, Taka was back in his room with the advice of cleaning it up a bit from Sakura stuck in his mind. He gazed around. While to the average person, there would be nothing wrong with it, Taka saw a total mess now that he had been able to leave and look at it again. The bedsheets were crumpled and the floor hadn’t been cleaned in two days, and a thin layer of dust coated the desk he usually kept immaculate. While he wasn’t as fast as he normally was, he set about clearing up a bit. There wasn’t much to do (considering he hadn’t moved much from one spot) so it didn’t take long to clean, but it still felt like a lot to him. He hadn’t really done anything productive in a while, so this felt massive to him. A moment later, there was knocking at the door, and a swimmer and a martial artist walk in. </p><p>“Ah, Sakura, Asahina. Did I forget something in the cafeteria?”<br/>
“What? No, silly! We just came to see how you were doing?<br/>
“How... I was doing?”<br/>
Sakura nods her head solemnly, “This is the first time you’ve been out of your room in two days, so naturally we wanted to see how you were coping.”<br/>
“Ah, I see. Well, I took your advice and cleaned up a bit-”<br/>
“Damn Taka! It looks just like how it did when we all got here!”<br/>
“L-language, Asahina...”<br/>
Asahina laughs, and puts an arm around Taka. “There’s the Taka we know!”<br/>
“What?”<br/>
“Admit it, you’re starting to feel better!”<br/>
“Maybe a little, but...” He sighs and hangs his head.<br/>
“Ishimaru,” Sakura interrupts, “your wounds won’t heal overnight. We understand that. But the fact that you gave today a chance and came and sat with Hina and myself, it gives me hope that you will heal, and will survive this. You will most likely go back to wanting to sleep all day and not want to come out of your room again tomorrow, but-”<br/>
“I won’t let you do that!” Asahina proclaims, determination clear in both her voice and stance. “I’m gonna come and get you every morning when I go to breakfast so I know you have breakfast too ‘cuz breakfast is important, and I’ll get you at lunch, and in the evening, and-”<br/>
“Hina, aren’t you forgetting something?”<br/>
“Forgetting something... Oh yeah! We’re gonna do stuff that you like and gonna get you moving again! Like I mentioned earlier, we’re gonna get you back on a schedule, ‘cuz we think that’s really gonna help you!”<br/>
“Well, I suppose I haven’t exactly been sticking to my usual routine recently, and I do prefer my days to be structured...”<br/>
“That had best be a yes, Ishimaru. Neither me or Hina are taking no for an answer.”<br/>
“That does appear to be a recurring theme today... very well.”<br/>
“Good. I will start making preparations immediately.”<br/>
“In that case, me and Sakura should be going. We’ll see you in the morning, alright Taka?” The two girls start heading out. Then Taka realises that he’s failed to say something incredibly important.<br/>
“W-Wait just a moment!”<br/>
“Hm? What’s up, Taka?”<br/>
He pauses for a moment, searching for the right words, until he finally speaks.<br/>
“Thank you.”</p>
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